AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas National Guard troops have arrived in Illinois, where they will spend up to two months protecting federal functions, personnel and property despite opposition from state and local officials.
Texas sent roughly 200 members of its National Guard, who are working on federal orders under presidential authorization, according to a Pentagon official. Troops are staging at an Army Reserve center south of Chicago ahead of expected deployment into the city, where federal law enforcement have been conducting enhanced immigration-related raids, according to the Associated Press.
Their arrival follows weeks of President Donald Trump threatening such action over what he has described as crime and lawlessness in Chicago in response to the immigration raids. He also said last week before a meeting of the military's top officers that they should use "dangerous cities" such as Chicago as "training grounds for our military."
Trump approved the deployment of troops Saturday while also attempting to send hundreds more to Portland, Ore., which has also seen immigration-related protests. However, a federal judge blocked that effort. Illinois and Chicago have also sued to stop the deployment.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared a photo Monday evening of Texas troops boarding a plane while carrying large plastic riot shields. Abbott said he authorized a total of 400 troops for the mission.
His office did not respond Tuesday to questions about whether the troops sent to Chicago were part of Texas' state-funded mission to deter illegal activity along its border with Mexico. If so, those troops moved from a paid state mission to one where they will not receive payment until a federal government shutdown ends. The shutdown has been ongoing for one week.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sunday no officials from the federal government called to discuss plans with him before sending troops out of Texas and called on Abbott to withdraw his support.
"There is no reason a president should send military troops into a sovereign state without their knowledge, consent, or cooperation," Pritzker said in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security launched what it called Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago about a month ago and has arrested more than 1,000 people officials said are in the United States without authorization and have criminal pasts.
However, residents have described to local news outlets a raid on an apartment building in the middle of the night where children were awakened and separated from their parents and sweeping arrests where U.S. citizens are also detained. This has led to protests in the city where federal agents used tear gas on the crowd.
The deployment to Illinois mirrors Trump's use of troops in Los Angeles in June, when he sent the California National Guard and members of the Marine Corps into the city to protect federal buildings and personnel against the wishes of state officials during immigration-related protests. California sued and a judge ruled the deployment was illegal.
Guard troops in California were used at times to create a perimeter around federal agents as they conducted arrests in and around Los Angeles. Roughly 100 remain on the mission, according to U.S. Northern Command, which oversees federal protection missions across the country.
Trump also sent National Guard troops into Washington, D.C., where federal jurisdiction functions differently and troops spent time collecting trash and beautifying parkland. The district also filed a lawsuit over the deployment.